Liquid applicator for a running yarn



May 29, 1956 J. BENNETT 2,747,221

LIQUID APPLICATOR FOR A RUNNING YARN Filed March 15, 1952 INVENTOR. dA M56 8 E NNETT $71 5 BY 4 IA 770R; )1

ired States Patent 2,747,221 LIQUIDAPPLICATOR Fon A RUNNING YARN James Bennett, Front Royal, Val, assignor to American Viscose Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application March 15, 1952, Serial No. 276,887 9 Claims. (Cl. 18--8) The present invention relates to apparatus for wet spinp'ing artificial filaments and particularly to an apparatus for applying a liquid to freshly spun yarn such as obtained by extruding viscose solution into an acid coagulating solution;

Under the practice now prevalent within the viscose yarn manufacturing industry, large quantities of coagulant solution are maintained and circulated in. open troughs or tanks extending the entire length of a machine in order that a large pluralityof spinnerets may be submerged simultaneously within the coagulant. This general ar-' ra'n'gement, while used by the industry for many years without substantial change, has certain well recognized apparatus for applying a treating liquid to running textile strands that is substantially closed so as to prevent material contamination of the plant atmosphere by fumes from the coagulant. It is another object to reduce. the quantity of coagulant necessary to' effect the hardeningof viscose yarns. It is a further object to obtain more eracient use of coagulant and to discharge the coagulating solution from the spinning equipment at a lower concentration of the dissolved coagulating agent; An important object is to provide apparatus whereby more precise control of the temperature of the coagulant applied to an extrluded filament-forming material may be obtained accompanied' by reduced heat losses and more efiicient contact of. the coagulant with. filamentary material. Still another object is to provide. an apparatus that is readily applicable to existing spinning equipment withoutextensive modification thereof. v

Other objects, features, and advantageswill become apparent following the description of the invention. and the drawing relating thereto in which. I

Fig, l is a fragmentary plan view ofa spinninglma'chine in which the applicator of theinvention' is. incorporated;

Fig. 2 is a side view of a portion of the. applicator shown in- Fig. 1;

3 is a top view of. a cover for the portionof. the applicator shown in Fig.

Fig-.4 is an endview of the applicator;

Fig. 5 is asideview of a modified applicator;

Fig. 6 is a top view of the applicator shown in Fig. 5; and- Fig. 7 is a fragmentary end view of the applicator shown in- Figs. 5 and 6. p

In brief, the invention comprises a covered container or receptacle through which a coagulant may be passed in contact with ayarn spuntherewithin In the embodi: ment's herein described, the receptacleis constructedtofit 2,741,221 Patented May 29, 1956 within the open elongate tank conventionally used for holding coagulant. The'receptacle comprises a body portion for receiving the spmneret and supporting coagulant therearound' arida trough portion connected with the. body portion through which the yarn is discharged toward a takeup device and through which the coagulant is passed. countercurrently to the yarn into and through the body portion to be discharged into a return duct.

Fig; 1 illustrates a portion of aspinning' machine, of. a type extensively used in the manufacture of regenerated cellulose yarns except for the improvement added by} the present invention. The machine comprises a trough.6 in. which an acid solution ismai'nt'ainedt'o a. depth ofjseveral inches at a level which submerges a plurality of spinnerets 7, 7 which are supported. ata uniform. depth within the. bath solution for the purp'ose of coagulating. a liqnid filaincnt forming material, such as viscose solution, discharged from; the spinnerets. The yarns produced from thespirinerets pass over respective stationary guides 8, 8 and then to respective g'odets' 9,9. The godets 9, 9 operate in conjunction withothe'r g'odets (not shown) occurring at a higher level on the machine to impart a predetermined amount of s'tre'aching. or eiitension in the partly regenerated yarn material. The spinnerets 7, 7 ares'up ported in the bath on curved tubes. or rounders 11,. usually made of glass, which are connected by couplings 1 2, 12 to filter candles 14, 14.. The. latter areconneeted pivotally to the supporting} structure ofthemachiner The. positions of 'the s innerets. maintained in the trough 6, he.-v low the Surface of the bath. is determined normally by notches 15,15 formed along,v the top edge of the trough. wall 16; The rounders 11. may also be adjusted tosome extent by loosening, the. couplings 12 to change the: positions of the. spinnerets. V I

In accordance with. the present inventionhowever, the coagulant solution is-applied to the' yarn while. passing through applicators 2Q, 20,, each one of which supports abath ofcoagulatingsolution around the green yarn formed: adjacent. to the spinneret enclosed thereby,, as shown in: Fig, 1. In lieu of drastic redesigning. of the conventional; machine, such applicators may be supported and, posi-- tioned within the. trough- 6; normally used to apply the coagulant. solution to the; filamentaforming material being extruded from the spinnerets. In addition to. the applica tors, the: machine is further modified byproviding a drain: line or manifold 21 which may be provided as shown with in? the trough; 6 extending lengthwise of; the spinning ma chine The drain linev 21 is; providedwith. inlets. 22, 22', one inlet adjacent. each spinneret. position andextending upwardly and terminating in a flared end underneath the" overflow nozzle 24,015 each applicator 20: The; spinning machine is further provided with aheader or m'anifo1d25: for supplying fresh; coagulant to the, inlet nozzle 27 of each of the applicators; As, the applicators. 20: comprise: a re,- movable, cover, such as; shown in Fig. 3, coagulant may be applied to the. yarns. formed by thev machine with very little exposure of the coagulant; to; the atmosphere. It is an important. feature of the present invention to provide a separate applicator for each yarn end produced so as tomi'nimize the amountof coagulant required p'eryarrr end and to eliminate as nearly asp'o'ssi-ble the exposed surfaceof coagulant solution occurring in conventional manufacturing practice.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the liquid-receiving body portion. of the applicator 20. The body-portion comprises a box-shaped compartment 3.0 and a; horizontally extending trough 31 which joins with a side wall of the compartment. The section of the side wall 32 en:- closed within. the juncture thereof with trough Slis moved. to permit complete. contigui'ty between the interior regions of the trough and the compartment. The bottom of trough 31 slopes away from the plane formed by the top edges of the trough and the compartment walls to permit passage of a yarn forming spinneret disposed at a substantial depth within the compartment as the yarn passes 'a substantially straight path from the spinneret lengthwise of the trough to an outlet aperture 33 in the applicator cover 35 (see Figure 3). The inlet nozzle 27 is joined to the end wall 36 of the trough. The coagulant solution supplied to the applicator enters through this nozzle and passes lengthwise of the trough 3ft through the compartment 30 and is discharged through a notch formed in the side wall 37 of the compartment. To facilitate the delivery of the waste coagulant into the receiving tube 22, a duct may be joined to the wall around the notch such as the chute or nozzle 24 shown.

' A characteristic of the invention, as illustrated by Fig. 2 and disclosed in describing the other embodiments of the invention, is the substantial difference in the size of the cross-sections of the trough and the compartment takenin parallel intersecting relation with the path of the strand or a straight line projection thereof. The width or the height of any such cross-section of the trough is smaller than that of the compartment. For example, in the applicator of Fig. 2, the width and the height of the trough 31 are smaller than the width and the height, respectively, of the compartment 30 with respect to crosssections taken perpendicularly to the path for a yarn traveling through the applicator from the spinneret 7 to the guide 8.

The cover 35 is unitary in construction and has a downwardly extending flange 39 which fits closely to upper margins of the exterior side surfaces of the trough 31 and the compartment 30. The cover is slotted at 41 for extension into the compartment of the structure described for supporting a spinneret 7. In operating position, the coupling 12 is disposed within the wide section of the slot, and a section of the rounder 11 adjacent to the coupling extends within the small portion of the slot. The cover has a pair of handles 42 and 43 as shown in Fig. 4 to facilitate the handling of the cover. The applicator is readily lifted into and out of the trough 16 of the machine and comprises a vertical support 44 attached to the trough 31 and a couple angle elements 45 and 46 secured to the bottom of the compartment 30 which support the applicator within the trough 6 in proper relationship with the spinneret and the path of the yarn extending therefrom to the guide 8. As shown, the applicator is free of structure within the interior regions of the compartment 30 and the trough 31 overlying the path of the strand through the applicator, except for the cover 35 when the latter is in place over the opening in the top of the applicatorshared by the compartment and the trough.

Figures and 6 illustrate a modification of the applicator hereinbefore described, the principal difference be ing that apertures provided in the applicator for extension therethrough of the spinneret-supporting structure, and the discharge of the yarn from the trough 51, occur respectively in the side wall of the compartment 50 and the end wall of the trough rather than in the cover member of the applicator hereinbefore described. The end wall of the trough 51 is provided with an inlet nozzle 52, and the compartment has a discharge chute 3 and a support 54 similar to corresponding items of the previously described embodiment. However, the side wall of the compartment 50 has a notch at 56 in which rests the coupling 12 for attaching the rounder 11 to the candle filter 14 shown in Fig. 1. The end wall of the trough 51 has a notch immediately above the nozzle 52 through which the strand 57 formed in the applicator may be discharged toward the godets 9 or other take-up means. In the event it is desired to extend the path of the strand upwardly as the strand passes from the applicator, a thread guide, such as a small rod-like element 59 comprising the support 54, other supports, such as the V-shaped.

members 68 and 69, may be secured underneath the compartment St? for spacing the fluid-containing portion of the applicator at the level desired above the bottom of the trough.

The applicators herein described, or those of equivalent construction, are readily constructed of lead by the usual lead-burning technique, and although lead is presently the preferred material, any of the Well-known fabricating materials having suitable corrosion resistance to the coagulating or hardening solution employed in the manufacturing of wet spun yarns may be utilized; e. g., other materials readily available for this purpose are hard rubber, diallyl-phthalate or phenol formaldehyde-impregnated laminates. Lead clad steel construction may also be used.

An applicator in accordance with the present invention has as an essential function the channeling of liquid for treating yarn through a region of relatively smali volume surrounding the running yarn and the spinneret. The applicator is preferably constructed, as hereinbefore described, as a portable unit which may be removed from the other portion of the spinning apparatus for cleaning or other servicing. Unitary portable construction renders the applicator particularly adaptable to existing spinning equipment which need be modified only to provide suppiy lines and drain lines for circulating the liquid through a plurality of the applicators. The principle of countercurrent operation is utilized in applying the treating liquid to the yarn to more efficiently use up the ingredients carried by the liquid than in the conventional bath system for wet spinning. On account of the more complete conversion of the material carried in solution, the spinning bath liquid may be supplied at lower initial con centration and discharged with a higher concentration and ratio of reaction products to unused dissolved yarntreating ingredients. The cost of reclaiming such products is thus olfset or compensated to a greater extent. Moreover, the applicator has the further advantage of enabling a hot treating liquid to be conducted directly to the strand without substantial heat loss and without being adversely aifected as to temperature or by currents such as are produced within a bath in which a large plurality of spinnarets are operated.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a spinneret and a support there for, a liquid applicator for a running strand generated from the spinneret comprising a compartment, a trough extending horizontally lengthwise away from a sidcwail of the compartment, the sidewall being open between the interior regions of the compartment and the trough, inlet means for liquid extending through the end of the trough furthest from the compartment for admitting liquid into the trougl1, the applicator having a pair of apertures, overflow means for the compartment disposed at a level below that ofleither aperture, one aperture extending through an upper portion of the applicator into the compartment for extension of the support thereinto and dispositionlof the spinneret within the compartment, the other aperture being disposed adjacent the inlet means for passage of the strand from the interior region of the trough and being aligned with respect to the spinneret in its spinning position within the compartment to dispose a strand along a substantially straight path extending from the spinneret lengthwise of the trough with a substantial length of the path disposed below the level of the overflow means, size of a cross section of the compartment extending perpendicularly to said path being, in general, substantially greater than the size of a cross section of the trough parallel to said cross section, the compartment and the trough having a continuous common opening above said path, and cover means for said opening.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the cover means comprises a single cover adapted to enclose the interior regions of the trough and the compartment from the atmosphere.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the cover of the applicator has said apertures.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein a sidewall of the compartment has the first-named aperture.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the end portion of the trough furthest from the compartment has the second-named aperture.

6. In combination with a spinneret and a support therefor, a liquid applicator for a running strand generated from the spinneret comprising a compartment, a trough extending horizontally lengthwise away from a sidewall of the compartment, the sidewall being open between the interior regions of the compartment and the trough, inlet means extending through the end of the trough furthest from the compartment for admitting liquid into the trough, the applicator having a pair of apertures, overflow means for the compartment disposed at a level below that of either aperture, one aperture extending through an upper portion of the applicator into the compartment for extension of the support through the aperture and disposition of the spinneret within the compartment, the other aperture being disposed adjacent the inlet means for passage of the strand from the interior region of the trough and being aligned with respect to the spinneret in its spinning position within the compartment to dispose a strand along a straight path extending from the spinneret lengthwise of the trough with a substantial length of the path disposed below the level of the overflow means, the compartment and the trough having a continuous common opening above said path, size of a cross section of the compartment extending perpendicularly to said path being, in general, substantially greater than the size of a cross section of the trough parallel to said cross section, the interior regions of the trough and the compartment between said path and the opening being free of structure of the compartment and the trough, and cover means for said opening for substantially enclosing the interior regions of the trough and the compartment from the atmosphere.

7. In combination with a. spinning machine having an elongate trough, a spinneret, a support for mounting said spinneret within the trough, and a godet mounted rotatably adjacent said trough, said godet and the spinneret being relatively aligned for the passage of filamentary material along a predetermined path between the face of the spinneret and the periphery of the godet; a liquid applicator for a running strand passing between the spinneret and the godet comprising a compartment, a trough extending horizontally lengthwise away from the sidewall of the compartment, the sidewall being open between the interior regions of the compartment and the trough of the applicator, inlet means extending through the end of the applicator trough furthest from the compartment for admitting liquid into the applicator trough, the applicator having a pair of apertures, overflow means for the compartment disposed at a level below that of either aperture, one aperture extending through an upper portion of the applicator into the compartment for extension of the support thereinto through said aperture and disposition of the spinneret within the compartment, the other aperture being disposed adjacent the inlet means for passage of the strand from the interior region of the applicator trough and being aligned with respect to the spinneret in its spinning position within the compartment to dispose the strand along said path and extending lengthwise of the applicator trough with a substantial portion of that section of the path extending within the applicator disposed below the level of the overflow means, size of a cross section of the compartment extending perpendicularly to said path being, in general, substantially greater than the size of a cross section of the trough parallel to said cross section, the compartment and the applicator trough having a continuous common opening above said path free from the structure of the applicator, a cover for said opening, and supporting means for engaging the inner surface of the first-named trough and positioning the applicator therein.

8. In combination with a spinning machine comprising an elongated open tank conventionally used as a container for a liquid for treating artificial yarns spun within the tank, a plurality of spinnerets, and means for supporting the spinnerets at spaced postiions within the tank in an alignment extending lengthwise of the tank; a separate liquid applicator for each of said spinning positions adapted to receive the spinneret and a running strand generated from such spinneret; the applicator comprising a compartment, a trough joined integrally with the compartment and extending horizontally lengthwise away from a sidewall of the compartment, the sidewall being open between the interior regions of the compartment and the trough, inlet means for liquid extending through the end of the trough furthest from the compartment for admitting a liquid into the trough, the applicator having a pair of apertures, overflow means for the compartment, one aperture being disposed in an upper portion of the compartment for extension of said support thereinto whereby the spinneret may be supported within the compartment, the other aperture being disposed adjacent to the inlet means for passage of the strand from the interior of the trough to a strand-supporting means positioned outside the applicator, the aperture of the trough being aligned with respect to said spinning position of the spinneret to dispose a yarn along a substantially straight path extending through the applicator from the spinneret with a substantial length of the path disposed below the level of the overflow means, the size of a cross section of the compartment extending perpendicularly to said path being, in general, substantially greater than the size of a cross section of the trough parallel to said cross section, the compartment and the trough having a continuous common opening above said path, and cover means for said opening; and means for supporting the applicator in fixed relation with the walls of the tank.

9. The combination defined in claim 8 wherein said means for supporting the yarn outside the applicator comprises a stationary guide.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 838,758 Thiele Dec. 18, 1906 1,664,319 Pellerin Mar. 27, 1928 1,665,624 Conrad Apr. 10, 1928 2,210,116 Dreyfus Aug. 6, 1940 2,288,982 Waterman July 7, 1942 2,393,595 Dawson Jan. 29, 1946 2,659,102 Rarick Nov. 17, 1953 

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A SPINNERT AND A SUPPORT THEREFOR, A LIQUID APPLICATOR FOR A RUNNING STRAND GENERATED FROM THE SPINNERET COMPRISING A COMPARTMENT, A TROUGH EXTENDING HORIZONTALLY LENGTHWISE AWAY FROM A SIDEWALL OF THE COMPARTMENT, THE SIDEWALL BEING OPEN BETWEEN THE INTERIOR REGIONS OF THE COMPARTMENT AND THE TROUGH, INLET MEANS FOR LIQUID EXTENDING THROUGH THE END OF THE TROUGH FURTHEST FROM THE COMPARTMENT FOR ADMITTING LIQUID INTO THE TROUGH, THE APPLICATOR HAVING A PAIR OF APERTURES, OVERFLOW MEANS FOR THE COMPARTMENT DISPOSED AT A LEVEL BELOW THAT OF EITHER APERTURE, ONE APERTURE EXTENDING THROUGH AN UPPER PORTION OF THE APPLICATOR INTO THE COMPARTMENT FOR EXTENSION OF THE SUPPORT THEREINTO AND DISPOSITION OF THE SPINNERET WITHIN THE COMPARTMENT, THE OTHER APERTURE BEING DISPOSED ADJACENT THE INLET MEANS FOR PASSAGE OF THE STRAND FROM THE INTERIOR REGION OF THE TROUGH AND BEING ALIGNED WITH RESPECT TO THE SPINNERET IN ITS SPINNING POSITION WITHIN THE COMPARTMENT TO DISPOSE A STRAND ALONG A SUBSTANTIALLY STRAIGHT PATH EXTENDING FROM THE SPINNERET LENGTHWISE OF THE TROUGH WITH A SUBSTANTIAL LENGTH OF THE PATH DISPOSED BELOW THE LEVEL OF THE OVERFLOW MEANS, SIZE OF A CROSS SECTION OF THE COMPARTMENT EXTENDING PERPENDICULARLY TO SAID PATH BEING, IN GENERAL, SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THAN THE SIZE OF A CROSS SECTION OF THE TROUGH PARALLEL TO SAID CROSS SECTION, THE COMPARTMENT AND THE TROUGH HAVING A CONTINUOUS COMMON OPENING ABOVE SAID PATH, AND COVER MEANS FOR SAID OPENING. 